Statement from Stephen Ireland. “I wish to explain the circumstances surrounding my departure from the Republic of Ireland international squad following the Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovakia in Bratislava last Saturday. “When the game ended our manager Stephen Staunton took me outside the dressing room into the corridor along with the Ireland team doctor. He told me that they had taken a call from my girlfriend, Jessica, and she said my grandmother had died. “I was deeply shocked because I believed it was my maternal grandmother who had brought me up from when I was five. The manager went back into the dressing room to get my phone and when I got it I immediately rang my girlfriend to get more details. “My girlfriend was distraught and explained that she had just suffered a miscarriage. Jessica said she was very lonely and wanted me to come home. She said she thought they might let me home quicker if they thought my grandmother had died. “When I finished the call I told the manager and doctor that my grandmother had died and because we were very close I wanted to go home immediately. The manager said that was no problem and he would get the FAI to sort it out. “The FAI hired a private jet to get me home and I flew out of Bratislava the following morning. Before I left I told the FAI media officer that the name of my grandmother was Patricia Tallon. “Early on Monday morning I got a phone call from Stephen Staunton telling me that the FAI had discovered my grandmother in Cork was not dead. He wanted to know what was going on and I told him that there had been a mistake and it had been my father’s mother. I told him her name was Brenda Kitchener, that she lived in London. “Jessica and I were still very upset over the miscarriage so we flew home to Ireland for a few days. “On Thursday, I got a phone-call from Manchester City stating that the FAI had discovered that my grandmother, Brenda Kitchener, was also alive. I decided at that stage that I must tell truth and admit I had told lies. “I realise now that it was a massive mistake on my part to tell the FAI and Manchester City that my grandmothers had died and I deeply regret it. The miscarriage that Jessica suffered last Saturday has caused both of us a lot of heartache and had caused us both to panic. “It was wrong and I sincerely apologise, particularly as I caused a lot of problems for many people. “I would like to apologise to my grandmothers and all my family for any distress I have caused them. “Ireland manager Stephen Staunton, my Ireland team-mates, the backroom staff and the FAI also deserve my profound apologies. I truly appreciate that the extraordinary lengths they went to put my welfare first and ensure I got home from Slovakia as quickly as possible. “I am also sorry for causing Manchester City any embarrassment and apologise to the supporters of both Manchester City and Ireland for misleading them and the media. “I love playing for my country and am grateful for the understanding Mr Staunton and the FAI have shown to me since I told them the truth. “I have learnt a valuable lesson from this mess and hope those I have hurt by my actions wll forgive me.†Stephen Ireland
Unreal poor lad we all make mistakes his parents must have been mad at him can imagine the confussion it caused
Read that earlier. Miscarriage is a terrible tragedy. I dont understand why he didnt just tell the truth.
His bird must have been all over the place to say that in yhe first place. But he should have came clean on monday when they noticed his nan was alive and kicking instead of saying it was his other nan.
Its a sad story, people panic when things like this happen hence the granny story. I guess its taken so long to come public cos the state the two must have been in, probably looking out for each other and not caring what the rest of the world thought.
lets hope his girlfriend can get over this, all our thoughts should be with both of them in this very hard time. He was missed on wednesday night but nobody could blame him for withdrawing from the squad
Yeah I agree, this should not be for public discussion. Poor guy, he probably didnt know what to say. I doubt there was much need to apologise to the irish fans, but it shows great bravery to do so. I hope he explained thing to his poor gannies
I think the reason they released a statement was a few tabloids were hot on the trail of this story,if the papers got this out first god only knows what kind of spin they would have put on it.
Think it was very stupid of him to keep the lie going, obviously feel very sorry for him and his girlfriend and it's a horrible thing to happen, but it was a bit silly on his part.